Mount Vernon Downtown Association
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The mission of the Mount Vernon Downtown Association is to cultivate a vibrant and prosperous downtown while honoring its historic character, to preserve and grow the place where community connection happens. Our vision is of a thriving historic downtown Mount Vernon, where all are welcome in the clean, safe, and appealing heart of commerce and culture; a place where the community comes together with pride.
- Income
- $342,231
- Spending
- $377,776
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 0.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 39%
- Employees
- 3
- Highest pay
- $78,678, executive dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 40 out of 100. Higher than 11% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
4 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 0.9 months of spending.
Debt
2 of 20It owes 80% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 10% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 22% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Fair: 61 out of 100. Higher than 28% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 2510 of 8 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $300,601 spent. In 2023, the MVDA continued its ongoing work of supporting our community by providing opportunities for social connection and generating civic pride through a robust calendar of events in the district that we either solely produced or partnered in production. That calendar included 22 community events as well as our three-day Tulip Festival Street Fair, which brought an estimated 35 thousand visitors to our district in April. As the first outdoor event in our region during the calendar year, the Tulip Festival Street Fair provides a much-needed influx of tourism revenue for our businesses. All events except for two ticketed fundraising events were free and open to the public. We continued and further developed partnerships with other community organizations, such as the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce, Public Hospital District #1, the Mount Vernon School District, the City of Mount Vernon, the Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County, and the Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship, and others. We continued our economic ecosystem development work through operating our small business incubator space, The Pop-Up Mount Vernon and our retail art gallery/gift shop, the LIDO Collective. The LIDO Collective is a creative microenterprise incubator that strengthens the local arts economy by providing area artists and artisans with a year-round sales outlet, rendering them less dependent on seasonal events, and strengthens our downtown business environment by adding retail interest and creating more foot traffic, serving to draw commerce from our popular food Co-Op out into the downtown. The LIDO Collective provided the retail outlet opportunity to over 60 local and regional artists in 2023. The Mount Vernon Downtown Association also served the district through non-event promotional activities, such as two shop-local punch card campaigns and the continued production and distribution of glossy marketing materials like our Downtown Dining Guide and shopping guides, as well as maintaining our website and multiple social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. We continue to provide information and connections to resources for our businesses. In June, we again hosted an event celebrating Washington Main Street Week, bringing elected representatives and visitors from the states preservation community into the district to see our communitys progress under the Main Street program. As in previous years, we continue to partner with our city in the beautification and maintenance of the historic downtown through our hanging basket program, a lighted street tree program during the dark fall and winter months, streetscape improvements, community clean-up events, and hanging banners. We advocate for the interests of our business and property owners at the local, state and federal levels. We provide information and connections to many resources for our business owners. We work with business and property owners as requested in property and business ownership and leasing transitions, and work assiduously to both recruit and retain businesses in our historic commercial district.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 2014.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.